Kabul suicide bomber kills dozens at gathering of clerics

Over 50 ulama (Islamic Scholars) have been killed in Eid Miladun Nabi gathering event marking Holy Prophet Muhammad’s birthday in Afghanistan in a suicide blast. A suicide bomber in Kabul has killed more than 50 people and injured dozens more after targeting a crowd of Islamic scholars marking the birthday of the prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). There are fears the death toll could rise, as hundreds were packed into the large hall near the Afghan capital’s airport, more often used to host weddings. “Hundreds of Islamic scholars and their followers had gathered to recite verses from the Holy Quran to observe the Eid Miladun Nabi festival at the private banquet hall,” said Basir Mujahid, a spokesman for Kabul police, as Pakistan’s Tribune reports.

It shows how sectarian extremism has deeply penetrated in the society imported by the home-grown radical elements of the fanatic idealogies disparaging Islamic pluralism from within.

The US special envoy for Afghanistan has also been meeting Taliban officials in Qatar, but no agreement has so far been reached.

The Taliban’s power and reach have surged since foreign combat troops left Afghanistan in 2014.

The Islamic State group is another matter. Opposed by the Taliban and considered a major threat by Western powers, the Sunni militants aim to turn the conflict in Afghanistan into a sectarian war with Shias, who they consider apostates.

The violence is not easing. Civilian deaths and injuries have hit record highs. Casualty figures for the conflict, which began in 2001, are the highest since the UN started keeping records in 2009.